# US 11,441,856 B2 · Auto-indexing lance positioner apparatus and system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,441,856 B2 - Document ID: US11441856B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/662,762 - Filed: 2019-10-24 - Published: 2020-04-30 - Granted: 2022-09-13 - Earliest claimed: 2018-10-26 - Assignees: Stoneage, Inc. - Applicants: Stoneage, Inc. - Inventors: Timothy Schneider; Adam Markham; Joseph A. Schneider; Scott Howell; Daniel Szabo; Cody R. Montoya - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11441856B2 ## CPC - F28G 1/163: {from internal surfaces of heat exchange conduits} - B08B 9/0325: {Control mechanisms therefor} - B08B 9/0433: {provided exclusively with fluid jets as cleaning tools} - F28G 15/003: {Control arrangements} - F28G 15/04: Feeding and driving arrangements, e.g. power operation - F28G 15/08: Locating position of cleaning appliances within conduits - F28G: CLEANING OF INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL SURFACES OF HEAT-EXCHANGE OR HEAT-TRANSFER CONDUITS, e.g. WATER TUBES OR BOILERS (cleaning pipes or tubes in general B08B9/02; devices or arrangements for removing water, minerals, or sludge from boilers while the boiler is in operation, or which remain in position while the boiler is in operation, or are specifically adapted to boilers without any other utility F22B37/48; removal or treatment of combustion products or combustion residues F23J; removing ice from heat-exchange apparatus F28F17/00) - B08B: CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL ## Abstract A system and an apparatus for positioning a plurality of flexible cleaning lances includes a frame removably fastened parallel a tube sheet of a heat exchanger. The apparatus includes a smart lance tractor drive for advancing and retracting one or more lance hoses through one or more lance guide tubes into tubes penetrating through the heat exchanger tube sheet, a controller, one or more AC induction sensors on the tubes operable to sense holes in the tube sheet, and a tumble box connected to the controller operable to generate electrical power to the AC induction sensor from an air pressure source, supply electrical power to the controller and distribute pneumatic power to pneumatic motors for positioning the tractor drive on the positioner frame. The tractor drive includes sensors for detection of mismatch between expected and actual lance positions and automated drive reversal operation to remove blockages within tubes being cleaned. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus comprising: a housing; at least one drive motor having a drive axle in the housing carrying a cylindrical drive roller; a plurality of cylindrical guide rollers on fixed axles aligned parallel to the drive roller, and wherein a side surface of each guide roller and the drive roller is tangent to a common plane between the rollers; an endless belt wrapped around the at least one spline drive roller and the guide rollers; a bias member supporting a plurality of follower rollers each aligned above one of the drive roller and the guide rollers, wherein the bias member is operable to press each follower roller toward one of the drive roller or one of the guide rollers to frictionally grip at least one flexible lance hose when the at least one flexible lance hose is sandwiched between the follower rollers and the endless belt; a first sensor coupled to the drive roller or one of the guide rollers for sensing position of the endless belt; a second sensor coupled to a first one of the follower rollers for sensing position of the first follower roller relative to a first flexible lance hose sandwiched between the first follower roller and the endless belt; and a first comparator coupled to the first and second sensors operable to determine a first mismatch between the first follower roller position and the endless belt position. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a third sensor coupled to a second one of the follower rollers for sensing position of the second one of the follower rollers relative to a second flexible lance hose sandwiched between the second one of the follower rollers and the endless belt. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The apparatus according to claim 2 further comprising a second comparator operable to compare the second follower roller position to the endless belt position and determine a second mismatch between the second follower roller position and the endless belt position. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The apparatus according to claim 3 further comprising a controller coupled to the first comparator and the second comparator operable to initiate an autostroke sequence of operations upon the first mismatch and second mismatch differing by a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The apparatus according to claim 3 further comprising a fourth sensor coupled to a third one of the follower rollers for sensing position of the third one of the follower rollers relative to a third flexible lance hose sandwiched between the third one of the follower rollers and the endless belt. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The apparatus according to claim 5 further comprising a third comparator operable to compare the third follower roller position to the endless belt position and determine a third mismatch between the third follower roller position and the endless belt position. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising a controller coupled to the first comparator, the second comparator and the third comparator operable to initiate an autostroke sequence of operations upon any one of the first, second and third mismatches exceeding a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the controller is operable to modify clamping pressure if the first, second and third mismatches exceed a different predetermined threshold. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the sensors are quadrature encoders. ### Claim 10 A flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus comprising: a housing; at least one drive motor having a drive axle in the housing carrying a cylindrical drive roller; a plurality of cylindrical guide rollers on fixed axles, wherein the plurality of cylindrical guide rollers are aligned parallel to the cylindrical drive roller; an endless belt wrapped around the cylindrical drive roller and the plurality of cylindrical guide rollers; a bias member supporting a plurality of follower rollers each aligned above one of the cylindrical drive roller or one of the plurality of cylindrical guide rollers, wherein the bias member is operable to press each follower roller toward the cylindrical drive roller or the plurality of cylindrical guide rollers to frictionally grip a flexible lance hose sandwiched between the plurality of follower rollers and the endless belt; a first sensor coupled to one of the cylindrical drive roller or one of the plurality of cylindrical guide rollers for sensing position of the endless belt; a second sensor coupled to a first one of the plurality of follower rollers for sensing a position of the first one of the plurality of follower rollers relative to the flexible lance hose sandwiched between the first one of the plurality of follower rollers and the endless belt; and a first comparator coupled to the first sensor and the second sensor operable to determine a first mismatch between the position of the first one of the plurality of follower rollers and position of the endless belt. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus according to claim 10 further comprising a third sensor coupled to a second follower roller for sensing position of the second follower roller relative to a second flexible lance hose sandwiched between the second follower roller and the endless belt. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus according to claim 11 further comprising a second comparator operable to compare the position of the second follower roller to the position of the endless belt and determine a second mismatch between the position of the second follower roller and the position of the endless belt. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus according to claim 12 further comprising a controller coupled to the first comparator and the second comparator operable to initiate an autostroke sequence of operations upon the first mismatch and second mismatch differing by a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus according to claim 12 further comprising a fourth sensor coupled to a third follower roller for sensing position of the third follower roller relative to a third flexible lance hose sandwiched between the third follower roller and the endless belt. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus according to claim 14 further comprising a third comparator operable to compare the position of the third follower roller to the position of the endless belt and determine a third mismatch between the position of the third follower roller and the position of the endless belt. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus according to claim 15 further comprising a controller coupled to the first comparator, the second comparator and the third comparator operable to initiate an autostroke sequence of operations upon any one of the first mismatch, the second mismatch and the third mismatch exceeding a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus according to claim 16 wherein the controller is operable to modify clamping pressure if one or more of the first mismatch, the second mismatch and the third mismatch exceeds a different predetermined threshold. ### Claim 18 (depends on 10) The flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are quadrature encoders. ### Claim 19 (depends on 14) The flexible high pressure fluid cleaning lance drive apparatus according to claim 14 wherein each of the first sensor, the second sensor, the third sensor and the fourth sensor is a quadrature encoder.